


Goldfish crackers and a secret

by esperink



Series: Taking Care [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Age Regression, Age Regression/De-Aging, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Me? Projecting? It’s more likely than you think, Princey only has a small role here, This is such a stupid title, also this is the first agere thing I’ve actually written, i don’t know y’all it’s two in the morning, i wrote this all on my phone, maybe? What does this even qualify as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 16:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20011225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esperink/pseuds/esperink
Summary: A simple word causes Virgil to feel younger than he thinks he should be. And he really doesn’t want anyone to find out.





	Goldfish crackers and a secret

**Author's Note:**

> Listen.  
> With every fandom I’m in, I usually hc a character or two to use age regression. Sanders Sides is no different. Let me project okay  
> This is actually the first agere fic I’ve written, though, so.

_“Kiddo.”_

Usually, Virgil could roll his eyes at the word or shrug it off. But he had had a very rough day and was so very tired and stressed. His stomach dropped and he suddenly felt very small.

Luckily, they had just ended a Sanders Sides video, so he threw a quick salute and sunk out, hoping they wouldn’t notice how abrupt his exit was.

He landed on his bed with a frustrated groan. He couldn’t do this, not right now. Not while everyone else was still awake.

Maybe if he stayed in his grown-up form he could-

Nope, he was already using words like “grown-up” in his inner monologue.

Well, as long as nobody got into his room, he’d be okay, right? His secret would stay safe.

He wasn’t even sure _why_ he felt he couldn’t let anyone know. He felt embarrassed about it, maybe.

But maybe the most that would happen would be Patton babying him more (he definitely wasn’t looking forward to that), Princey coming up with even more nicknames, and Logan spouting some random facts.

Maybe.

He eventually decided to give in, and it didn’t take long since he was already halfway there. He stood and grabbed some things he’d stashed away, putting them on the bed and sitting there for a moment to hopefully drive away any worries.

Maybe this shapeshifting thing was useful, he thought as he closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he looked down at his feet, which were dangling off the bed. He hadn’t kept his usual outfit either. He found little graphic t shirt and jeans fit better with how he was feeling.

He rolled over to lay on his stomach, opening his coloring book and box of crayons.

It only took him a few minutes to calm down somewhat. It was nice, just coloring a picture of a cartoon character.

He was humming along to a Disney playlist he’d randomly found on Spotify when his hand reached out instinctively to grab a few goldfish crackers... and found that he didn’t have any. They weren’t there.

He looked up, and he frowned. Coloring sessions weren’t complete without his snacks. He scrambled off the bed and headed towards the door.

He hesitated, though. He didn’t feel like changing back into an adult. Not only that, it was much more difficult to do anything he could do as a Side, in this mindset. But what if he was spotted? What if someone saw him?

It could be like a spy mission, he internally encouraged himself, opening the door and slipping out.

He could hear a television on somewhere... maybe in the living room? Maybe Roman and Patton were watching another Disney movie.

Peeking into the living room, Virgil saw he was right. And he’d love to stay and watch, but he had a mission.

To avoid being seen, he army crawled behind the couch the other two were sitting on to get to the kitchen. Like a spy, he reminded and told himself, holding back a small laugh about the idea of being an actual spy.

He reached the kitchen with no problem and looked around. He found where he’d stashed his sippy cup. He put that aside, for now. For now he just wanted his snack.

Why did the goldfish crackers have to be in a such a high cabinet?

He couldn’t let himself get discouraged now. He was almost finished with his mission, after all!

After a few tries (and a nearby chair) he managed to get onto the counter, and carefully started opening cabinets, trying to remember which one the crackers were in. It didn’t take too long to find them. But they were so far, yet so close.

He outstretched his arm, fingers brushing and desperately grabbing for the package. Maybe if he could just...

“... Virgil?”

The boy in question turned around so fast he slipped and almost fell, but Roman was quick to catch him before he hit the ground. When Roman let him go, though, Virgil didn’t hesitate - he ran back to his room.

Mission failed, he thought as leaned against his door, sliding down to the floor.

To say that he was upset with himself hardly described how he was feeling. He covered his face with his hands and tried to breathe, tried to quiet his panic and to not cry.

He’d been sitting there a few minutes, legs pulled up to his chest and his face buried in his knees, when he heard footsteps stop outside his door.

“Virgil?” Roman inquired from outside.

Virgil didn’t answer. Maybe if he didn’t say anything, Princey would leave.

“Can I come in?”

Virgil still didn’t speak. He could barely say anything at this point, anyway, sometimes being upset rendered him nonverbal.

“Alright, then, I suppose I’ll just leave these here.”

He could hear Roman putting something down, and then footsteps signaled his leave.

Virgil waited a minute before opening the door and peering outside to see what Roman had left for him.

It was his sippy cup that he’d accidentally left, filled with apple juice, and a little bowl of goldfish crackers.

Virgil stared at them for a moment before bringing them inside.

Maybe Princey knowing wasn’t a bad thing, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr: esperinkdraws


End file.
